Portal:Current events/2021 July 21

July 21, 2021 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban insurgency
  - 2021 Taliban offensive
    - United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley says that half of all Afghan districts are under Taliban control as the complete withdrawal of foreign armed forces approaches. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City site is stripped of its United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage status. In a statement, UNESCO indicates that the "deletion" is "due to the irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value of the property" resulting from the ongoing Liverpool Waters development project. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Henan floods
- Floods continue in Henan, China, triggering several landslides which result in the deaths of 13 more people, bringing the total death toll to 25. (Al Jazeera)
2021 Oregon wildfires
- The Bootleg Fire in Oregon, United States, grows to 400,000 acres. (The Oregonian)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia reports a record 1,383 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 77,583. (Kompas)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia reports a record 199 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 7,440. (Free Malaysia Today)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports a record 1,784 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the national total of cases to 182,265. (CNBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Thailand
      - Thailand will join the COVAX program to receive supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine. (AP)
    - Thailand reports a record 13,002 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the national total of cases to 439,477. (Bangkok Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - France begins to require people who want to attend cinemas, museums, sporting events and other cultural venues or events with more than 50 people to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result amid an increase in the number of cases caused by the Delta variant. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
    - Ireland reports 1,378 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since January 31. (Thejournal.ie)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
      - New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announces that health care workers in the city will be required to get vaccinated or undergo COVID-19 testing amidst fears of the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant. (WNBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri
    - Governor Mike Parson announces that Missouri will launch a "Be a Mo VIP Winner" campaign to vaccinate individuals amidst a rise of cases in the state. In five rounds, over 180 people will be drawn with each receiving a US$10,000 prize. The announcement comes after 3,031 cases of COVID-19 was reported in the state, the highest since January. (Springfield News-Leader)
  - It is announced that life expectancy in the United States has fallen by 1.5 years in 2020, the largest decrease since World War II. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, COVID-19 was responsible for 74% of the decrease in life expectancy from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.3 years in 2020. (NPR)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Chile
  - Chile's Institute of Public Health issues an emergency use authorization for the Sputnik V vaccine. (Reuters)

International relations

On September 12, Pope Francis will visit Hungary as he celebrates the concluding Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress. He will then travel to Slovakia and return to Rome on September 15. (Catholic Culture) (Vatican News)

Law and crime

Hong Kong national security law
- Police in Hong Kong arrest Lam Man-chung, the former executive editor-in-chief of the now closed Apple Daily newspaper. It is the latest arrest surrounding the closure of the paper which has already seen its founder Jimmy Lai convicted and awaiting trial along with many other activists on subversion charges. (Al Jazeera)
Police in Tanzania arrest opposition leader Freeman Mbowe and dozens of other people within his party amid accusations of authoritarianism by the government of Samia Suluhu Hassan. Mbowe's Chadema party condemns his arrest and labels the government as a "dictatorship". (Reuters)
Two prison riots in Ecuador leave at least 18 people dead and dozens more injured. (The Rio Times)

Science and technology

COVID-19 misinformation, COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
- YouTube says that it has pulled videos from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for promoting misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters)

Sports

2021 in sumo
- Mongolian wrestler Terunofuji is officially promoted to yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo, and is the 73rd wrestler to have done so. (The Japan Times)
2032 Summer Olympics
- The International Olympic Committee awards the Australian city of Brisbane the right to host the 2032 Summer Olympics. (ABC Australia)
2021–22 NHL season
- The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft takes place in Gas Works Park where the 32nd NHL team, the Seattle Kraken filled out its first ever roster of players. (NHL)